pour, deliberate

斟 is composed of 甚 (very) and 斗 (dipper). 甚 depicts the action of putting food into a mouth that already contains food and carries the sense of fullness or substantiality, while 斗 depicts a long-handled ladle used for scooping wine. Therefore, the original meaning of 斟 is to pour wine, and it means to inject or to fill. In order to fill a wine cup with the ladle one must carefully consider the amount of wine so that the cup does not overflow; from this, 斟 also means to deliberate or to weigh carefully.